CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Wofford volleyball team, the No. 4 seed, upset top seed Furman with a 3-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament. With the win, Wofford advances to the SoCon championship for the first time in program history. Wofford will face No. 2 ETSU. Wofford, who continues to add to the program record for wins in the Division I era, improves to 22-10 while Furman's season ends with a 21-10 record.
 
Wofford, who entered the match 0-2 against Furman this season after 1-3 and 0-3 losses in the regular season, won 25-23, 25-19 and 25-20 to clinch the win and advance to the title match. Wofford has won four matches in a row, one of which was a sweep at ETSU in the regular season finale. Furman, the regular season champion, only dropped two conference contests in the entire 16 matches of the regular season.
 
'We knew Furman would be a tough match from start to finish,' said head coach Lynze Roos. "They're an elite program with fantastic players, so we knew we had to fight for every point. I'm so proud of the fire we showed and the way we stayed focused on each point."
 
Catie Cronster, the 2017 Co-Player of the Year in the conference, led all players with 14 kills. She also had eight digs to contribute defensively. Bijonae Jones followed right behind with 13 kills, as the two combined for 27 of Wofford's 47 kills. Jones reached double-digit kills for the first time in the last four matches and hit a team high .440, her highest hitting percentage all season.
 
"Bijonae came out on a mission today," noted Roos. "She served solid and took some big swings down the stretch."
 
Wofford also got quality production out of the middle hitters. Colleen Reilly, a First-Team selection, led the way with nine kills and a .364 hitting percentage. Riley Coonan, an All-Freshman team selection, followed with six kills and sophomore Kara Shacklette added five.
 
"Our middle attack was a big factor in system, and when that is clicking we are tough to stop," said Roos. "Colleen and Kara really delivered in big moments."
 
Lorissa King dished out 41 assists, 13.6 assists per set, and now has over 1,200 assists this season. The 1,227 assists is fourth in Wofford history for assists in a season. She added 10 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season and second in a row.  Taylor Gill had 12 digs to turn in a solid performance from the libero spot.
 
"Catie and Taylor held down the serve receive which allowed us to find good opportunities and Lorissa kept working all match to find her best matchups," added Roos.
 
Wofford hit .281 in the match and held Furman to .188.
 
In the first set, Wofford jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never trailed. Wofford's lead in the set was as large as eight, 18-10, but the Paladins went on a 9-3 run to pull within two, 21-19. The teams traded points down the stretch, and after Wofford had set point at 24-21, the Paladins fended off two straight to pull within one. Wofford called a timeout to regroup and an attack error by Furman gave Wofford the 25-23 set win.
 
Furman started the second set with three straight points and led until Wofford tied it at 14 all. Wofford used an 11-5 run to close the set 25-19 and take a 2-0 lead at the break.
 
The two teams traded points to begin the third set but Wofford quickly began to pull away. Furman called a timeout trailing 5-11 but couldn't claw their way back in and were forced to take their second with Wofford leading 20-13. Furman never closed the gap by less than four points and with set point, Jones found the back corner of the floor with a kill to seal the deal and clinch the Wofford win.
 
"Overall I just loved the fight and focus today," said Roos. "It's exciting to live to see another day here. We will rest up and try to see this thing through to the end."
 
Wofford will take a fan bus to the championship game. The bus will leave from the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium when the FCS selection show (10:30 a.m.) concludes. Lunch will be provided. Contact Elizabeth Rabb at rabbew@wofford.edu to claim a spot.